Michael Jordan, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan, David Robinson, & C. Vivian Stringer enter the Basketball Hall of Hame

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2009

Michael Jordan. John Stockton. David Robinson. Jerry Sloan. C. Vivian Stringer.

Congratulations Class of 2009.

I wanna take the time and reflect on the star-studded Class of 2009. Both the Basketball Hall of Fame and Football Hall of Fame are two events that I love to watch because you learn about the player/coach away from the game. We all know what they did in the sport but to hear the humble beginnings, the millions of lives these privileged athletes touched, and other heart-felt stories that make up a Hall of Famer is what makes this a special time.

I have a personal connections to two of the Hall of Famers that I would like to share. While I don’t have a connection with Stringer, Sloan, and Robinson I know of their great contributions to this wonderful game of basketball and most importantly their contributions off the court. They might not have touched my life, but they touched millions of others.

If there is any sport other than boxing that Filipinos will play it is basketball, and I too was engrossed in the game of basketball as a kid. Looking back at it though, its kinda funny that so many Filipinos love the game of basketball despite the fact that Filipinos are generally short. But those are just stereotypes…Anyways, I did have a very long basketball phase as a kid growing up. And like many kids growing up in the 90’s, I wanted to be like Mike. I wanted to fly, soar, twist, turn, and dunk like Mike, but I quickly realized that I could not. What I did realize was that I could move and play defense decently, and that I did not have to try and score in order to win. All I had to do was do the little things on the court, play the game with the team in mind, and try not to turn the ball over (happened a lot as I was by no means a good ball player). I started to mold my game more like John Stockton and play a hard-nosed defense that became my pride and joy. During pick-up games with friends in high-school I gained a reputation for being a dirty ass player that just got under the skin of people…and I never really trash talk in basketball (football is different).  I never became like Mike, but I was closer to becoming like Stockton.

Michael Jordan. What can I possibly say that any fan doesn’t already know? The name, the figure, the man, the shoe, the game, whatever…Michael Jordan still gives me chills. As a kid growing up on 71st and Talman in Chicago I idolized only three things: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Michael Jackson, and the Chicago Bulls. I was in love with the Mike-Mike-Mike trifecta in the 90s (Michelangelo from TMNT, Michael Jackson, and Michael Jordan). In fact Michael Jordan was not my favorite Bull initially – that honor went to B.J. Armstrong – but we were all Jordan fans by default. So instead of reiterating all the amazing stats, the ridiculous highlights, and the awesome shoes  I will tell you my storied connection to MJ.

The first ever basketball game I watched? It was championship-clinching Game 5 against the Lakers. I only watched it because my entire family was in the living room glued to the T.V. I did not understand the game of basketball yet – in fact the only thing I knew for sure was what a foul was – but I understood the magnitude of the Championship coming to Chicago. My older brother was 20 years old at the time and he always talked about the Chicago Bulls winning the Championship and how awesome Scottie Pippen was for the Bulls.

The first Air Jordan I ever got? My older brother and I got matching Air Jordan VI’s as a late birthday gift in February. It was also the same month my younger brother was born so my mom was kinda pissed that my brother spent so much on shoes. The funny story behind this is that they did not have a size for me, so my brother just bought the next biggest size available. Sadly, I wouldn’t be able to wear the shoe until two years later and at that time I thought the VIs were not that great (I was in love with AJ IX’s for some reason). I bought every AJ since the VI until the the AJ XIII.

The first ever basketball game I watched from start to finish? It was a January 1992 Bulls-Heat game. I remember it was a night game that my dad and I were watching. The Heat was just shoot 3’s like crazy that night and kept close with the Bulls. From what I remember, a young Glen Rice was just lighting the Bulls up that night and ended up with around 30 points. But we had Michael Jordan. Jordan dropped 40 points to win the game 108 to 106. I remember this because I wrote the final score and how many points Jordan scored on the inside box of my Air Jordans. From that day forward, I officially became a basketball fan and an avid Jordan watcher.

The day Michael Jordan shocked the world and retired for the first time in 1993, our family was ending an era ourselves. We left our tough and humble beginnings on 71st and Talman in the West Englewood/Chicago Lawn neighborhood of Chicago’s Southside to move to a small suburb called Bartlett in the Northwest Suburbs. Like Jordan’s move to professional baseball, our move to the suburbs was quite an adjustment but I never forgot the Southside of Chicago.

When MJ did return to the game of basketball, I was there…obsessed with the game and infatuated with his return. In his first-full season back during the 95-96 campaign, I recorded every single Bulls game on VHS, except for one. That one game I missed recording was because my mom actually got me tickets to go to my first Bulls game. I didn’t realize this until I was writing this post but the first Bulls game that I ever saw was against the Miami Heat four days before my birthday in January…Ironically, the same team I watched the Bulls play against four years earlier that made me a fan of this game. Sadly, this was the first and last game that I would see Michael Jordan play in person. However, as I reflect today how lucky I was to watch not only the Greatest Player of All Time, but to be part of a historic 72-10 record-setting season…and breath the same air as his Airness.

And now. 2009. The connection to MJ continues. After four years of what has been a very challenging and eye-opening experience for me at the University of Illinois, I was blessed by the grace of God to graduate from this fine institution in May 2009. I was elated, blessed, and very thankful for everything that the University has done for me. As I sat there, on my couch looking at Michael Jordan, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan, David Robinson, and Vivian Stringer get enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as the Class of 2009 I was at awe once again. The Class of 2009  is one I’ll never forget.

Thanks for the memories.